Thoughts are just thoughts, nothing else.

Many times I work with athletes to help them reduce unwanted, unhelpful, and distracting thoughts that negatively influence their performance. That work can be quite cumbersome as our thoughts are sticky and persistent. In the heat of competition it’s very easy for our minds to fixate on the thoughts it shouldn’t. When our thoughts are not focused on the task-at-hand we struggle to perform… routine plays become more challenging, we second guess our decisions, we make dumb mistakes and our performance gets away from us. And unfortunately, we see a lot of it. Now do all bad thoughts lead to a catastrophic meltdown?.. no.. but margins are razor thin in competitive sport and any disruption in an athletes’ process can be the difference between winning and losing.

Commonly, an athlete will come to me and say something like:

“I have a bad thought that always seems to pop up when the game is on the line. It’s distracting and gets me out of my rhythm. How do I get rid of it?”

“Getting rid of” those thoughts starts by understanding one hugely critical piece and that is that thoughts are just thoughts and nothing else. Just because you think something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. Just because you have a thought doesn’t mean you have to fixate on it. And you have the ability to change your thoughts into something that better serves you. Understanding that is the first step in enhancing your ability to control your thoughts in sport and life’s big moments.

Now, with that bit of knowledge and understanding developed, the process of “getting rid of” bad thoughts is pretty straight forward. First, we work to help the athlete become more aware of and better understand the thoughts that cause them trouble. From there, we work to reframe the unwanted thought(s) into a thought that better helps them navigate the situation. It might look something like this:

Original thought:

“Oh, man I can’t miss this drive to the right here.. The out of bounds line gets real close on that side. I’ve been struggling to square the club face up all day… I can’t leave another drive out to the right..

Reframed thought:

“Let’s aim this drive down the left edge of the fairway. If it moves back to the right great and if not the left rough is just fine. Take a breath and let it go. Smooth action here!”

As you can see, the reframed thought provides much more value, direction, and support to that golfer as he faces a difficult tee shot on the course in comparison to the original thought that lacks support, states the obvious, and likely increases feelings of anxiety.

Lastly, it’s important to note that bad thoughts are going to pop into your head from time to time. That’s why “getting rid of” is in parenthesis… we never totally get rid of bad thoughts, we just get better at limiting their impact on us. We have those bad thoughts because our brains are working to constantly make us aware of potential threats. Which largely results in fearful and doubting types of thoughts… the “What ifs?” if you will.

What if I miss this shot?

What if I give up a home run?

What if I can hold my splits?

What if we lose?

So the next time one of these types of bad thoughts pops into your head at a less than ideal time, take a second, take a breath and allow that thought to pass. And in that passing moment connect with you the thought you want to have. The thought that is going to inspire you, energize you, focus you, relax you.. the thought that is going to help you do whatever it is you need to do to be successful in that moment.

When it comes down to it, you are in control of your thoughts and not the other way around. While powerful, thoughts are just thoughts, nothing else.